Concrete block construction basics?

[Stimw]

Since the housing market crashed masons are starving. My suggestion is to find one and let him do the laying and you do the labor. Block work is about 20% laying and 80% mixing staging the block to be layed and scafold placing and moving.
I prefer block for the fire rating. If you are welding and/or cutting it is much safer.

 

[westcliffe01]

In Europe where labor is as dear as here and where they build almost exclusively with masonry, they typically install a boom crane on site where it can reach over every part of the building and it stays there until the building is complete. 2 or 3 men is all that is needed at a typical building site, until it is closed in. In the finishing stage it may be more hectic with all the different disciplines (kitchen, bath, tile, lighting, appliances, HVAC, flooring etc).

I have lived with several types of construction meanwhile and masonry with external insulation is by far the quietest. The only problematic acoustic mode is the sound of stiletto's on the tiled (concrete) floor over your head and the only time I have experienced that is in hotels. No lady that I hang around with wears those things....

 

[westcliffe01]

I have heard about dry stacking them before filling the voids with concrete...but that sounds a little "iffy" to me...

DryStacked Surface Bonded Home Construction with Dry Stacked Block Walls - Wall stacking movies

Dry stack block surface bonded concrete block walls for HTMs

The above 2 sites show in practical terms how to build with dry stacking. One can probably do a modification on the drystacking by using thinset mortar only on the bottom surface and running 1 course at a time. First set the course on dry and check that one of the blocks is too much out of whack (the blocks do have tolerances and it adds up). What they recommend with dry stacking is shuffling the blocks around to even out tolerance issues. Worst case one has to grind a bit off a few major offenders. This process works much better with the autoclaved aerated blocks which are lighter and easier to work, but availability is patchy and freight is a major expense.

Since it is the outside of the block that should be insulated and that is typically done with furring strips and rigid foam, of course it ends up more expensive than stick built but is not nearly comparable in durability, survivability in extreme weather and the mass damps temperature swings dramatically. Sorry, it is more work and more expense (typically) but it gives you a better building. Whether it is worth it depends on individual value systems, no point in having circular debates about that one...

 

[Redneck in training]

In Europe where labor is as dear as here and where they build almost exclusively with masonry, they typically install a boom crane on site where it can reach over every part of the building and it stays there until the building is complete. 2 or 3 men is all that is needed at a typical building site, until it is closed in. In the finishing stage it may be more hectic with all the different disciplines (kitchen, bath, tile, lighting, appliances, HVAC, flooring etc).

I have lived with several types of construction meanwhile and masonry with external insulation is by far the quietest. The only problematic acoustic mode is the sound of stiletto's on the tiled (concrete) floor over your head and the only time I have experienced that is in hotels. No lady that I hang around with wears those things....

I spent first half of my life in Europe. I helped to build several houses of my friends. Paid masons did the brick laying while all the helpers worked just for beer and food. (We bartered services) . We needed at least four people for each mason. Two mortar mixers and two runners with wheelbarrows. The so called rough structure (from foundation to the roof) was usually built in one or two weekends but to complete the house from digging foundation to landscaping took two to three years because of most of the work was done DIY and with friends help. Most houses are built from bricks that are not solid but have holes in them so they have some R value. Then 2" to 3" of closed cell expanded plastic (Styrofoam and such) is bonded to the wall and finished with polymer plaster.

 

[cmkavala]

ICF construction is a little complicated for the DIY, SIP's construction is much simpler typically OSB skins are used, but white painted galvanized Steel SIP Skins are also available and even simpler than OSB.
Besides the great insulation properties, the white makes for a great interior finish that is resistant to gas or chemicals that may come in contact with the walls

 

[rScotty]

As far as low cost workshops go, we once built a workshop for building a sailboat for near minimum dollars. That boat-building barn is a long rectangle with a peaked roof: 40' long but only 12' wide and sitting on a concrete perimeter foundation. BTW, it is possible to stretch concrete astoundingly with washed river rock. The construction was basic 2"x4" wood frame sheathed in 3/8" plywood with a corrugated steel roof. The floor is hard-packed earth. It took about a month to pour the concrete foundation and to sub-assemble the walls & rafters. Erecting the whole building then took a long weekend with the help of half a dozen friends.
Costs at today's prices:
20 bags of portland about $200, 300 2x4s cost about $700, 50 sheets of cheap ply for $1300, corrugated roofing $800. Second hand electrical fittings are dirt cheap, maybe $250 and that's mostly for wire. Add another $500 for nails, tools, and glue and the materials if bought new come out to less than $4000. On that particular barn, judicious scrounging helped to cut that cost even more. All in all it was an easy couple of month job start to finish.

If we'd had our old JD ag tractor with the farm loader back then it would have made a basically enjoyable job even more fun. Doing it again, that's the main change I'd make: to be sure to have an old loader tractor on hand.
good luck, rScotty

 

[zmoz]

Have you thought of going with a pole barn, having someone come in and spray foam insulation and then putting up plywood (or something) on the inside?
That should take care of your sound issues and should be easier than laying block.

Aaron Z

That has been a thought, anyone have a rough idea of what that spray foam type of insulation costs? I hate standard insulated metal buildings with "sleeping bags" hanging from the walls...

If I do concrete blocks, I don't really need insulation except in the roof. The shop I'm using now is like that and it stays around 45 inside when it's below freezing outside. All the concrete mass really does help absorb a lot of heat in the winter...really sucks in the summer though...

I'm going to build a much smaller more climate controlled work room inside the shop so I can stay comfortable when working on stuff.

 

[westcliffe01]

If you externally insulate the block and insulate the ceiling you will be fine in summer with an AC as long as you keep the door closed. Without the outside insulation there is too much conduction with the cored blocks. With AAC (aerated blocks) the insulating value is much higher and you may not need insulation in southern climes. A lot easier to build with too (lighter and much more precise).

SafeCrete.com - AAC Internet Sales / AAC Products / AAC Information / AAC Construction

 

[Mortarsprayer]

Hello Zmoz,
You are on a good path of looking at the possibilities. I will disclose right up front that I am a fan of concrete and more than a little biased that direction.
Right now I work in 3 small shops. I built each. Two are metal and one is concrete. My home is also concrete.
With the metal shops as we get into these cold days, my machinery gets cold. The condensation and "metal sweating" leads to rust. This happens when the shop cools over night and then we turn on the heat the next day. This may not bother some people but it does bother me. The overall comfort in the concrete building is much nicer to work in. Long term, that matters more to me than constructing the cheapest building.

Concrete block can be a very nice solution because it can be accomplished by yourself or a few friends as you have time to progress. For the owner builder, surface bonded cement /block is a very good choice. It is easier and faster than regular block construction.

I have started a collection of SBC information here:
Surface Bonding Cement | USDA Surface Bonded Block Guide
In different parts of the country there are various brands of SBC available. I prefer the premix over the old school method.

One last note about insulation. With concrete block you can add a 2" layer of Styrofoam to the exterior later if you decide to stabilize the temperatures even more.

Now that I'm getting older, I don't enjoy working outside on the gravel any more. A warm shop that is comfortable is a wonderful treasure.

Good luck with your shop. I hope you get to enjoy it for many years.

Best regards,
Nolan

 

[k0ua]

As others have said, you want blocks laid right, get a pro to do it: 3 of us, myself included laid block for a day, when the neighbor ( a mason) became disgusted watching us. came over, tore out half of what we had done, showed us how to mix mud, and lay it out on 3 big boards, he put us to work mixing and hauling mud/blocks and moving his mud boards. he laid more blocks in an hour than we laid all day, and they looked much much better. It was a thing of beauty to watch him "sling a mud line" and butter and set blocks.. It was a good lesson for me, that I have not forgotten. He worked us into the ground just "mixing, toting, and fetching" but the blocks were laid, and laid correctly.
James K0UA